Dine Ugandan style at Sab Restaurant
Aug 23, 2007
IT is midday, I am right in the middle of Kampala, the central business district. Everyone is rushing. I am hungry and the traffic jam is irritating, adding to my hunger.
By Davis Weddi
IT is midday, I am right in the middle of Kampala, the central business district. Everyone is rushing. I am hungry and the traffic jam is irritating, adding to my hunger.
I move towards the Constitutional Square with my nostrils up, looking for a good place to have lunch.
Opposite Kampala Central Police Station, I see Sab Restaurant. I walk in, only to find another jam at the counter. Everyone is paying for food, while pointing at the large colourful menu on the wall behind the cashier.
In front of me are three white ladies, two Asian men to my right and the rest fellow Africans, demanding service. Sab seems to be a popular restaurant in the centre of town.
The menu – ohh how splendid! Every dish is cooked Ugandan style. Studying the menu, I get in a dilemma of choosing what to eat. There is variety.
Close to 20 items to choose from, vegetarian and non-vegetarian – the amount of money in your pocket would be the limit.
Prices at Sab are affordable to an average Ugandan. A fat man who is said to be the owner and manager of the restaurant, visits every table, talking to guests. He left the European ladies smiling – I am sure they will return to Sab.
I paid sh3,000 to the cashier and got a receipt that I used to order for beef stew, rice, posho, kalo (millet bread) and irish potatoes.
Thereafter, I walked to the sink to wash my hands. Surprisingly, there was Dettol anti-bacterial soap.
After taking my seat, the waitress came in a ‘flash’ with a steaming tray. On it was my beef stew – of course, my appetite rose at the aroma rising from the thick beef. If you enjoy white rice, try to remind the waitresses here, otherwise, they will bring something else.
I did not do so and was given brown fried rice, a slice of posho and sweet potatoes instead of Irish potatoes. The waitress told me they did not have Irish potatoes, only to see them being served to another person, a few minutes later.
Anyway, my enhanced appetite could not wait for any explanations. I immediately started digging into the plate with the rage of a hungry lion.
Even when the manager came to my table, I had no time to waste, I gave him thumbs-up and invested the remaining time mining the spicy fresh meal.
As I left Sab, I wondered why they served so much food for the money that is a fraction of the charges at some fancy restaurants in town.
Sab is a people restaurant. In the week when Uganda hosts CHOGM, I will return to the restaurant to celebrate.
RATING/OUT OF FIVE
Staff friendliness 2
Service speed 4
Cleanliness 3
Food quality 4
Value for money 4
Staff attentiveness 1
Ambience 3
Toilet cleanliness 2
Drinks 4
Overall rating 55%
IT is midday, I am right in the middle of Kampala, the central business district. Everyone is rushing. I am hungry and the traffic jam is irritating, adding to my hunger.
I move towards the Constitutional Square with my nostrils up, looking for a good place to have lunch.
Opposite Kampala Central Police Station, I see Sab Restaurant. I walk in, only to find another jam at the counter. Everyone is paying for food, while pointing at the large colourful menu on the wall behind the cashier.
In front of me are three white ladies, two Asian men to my right and the rest fellow Africans, demanding service. Sab seems to be a popular restaurant in the centre of town.
The menu – ohh how splendid! Every dish is cooked Ugandan style. Studying the menu, I get in a dilemma of choosing what to eat. There is variety.
Close to 20 items to choose from, vegetarian and non-vegetarian – the amount of money in your pocket would be the limit.
Prices at Sab are affordable to an average Ugandan. A fat man who is said to be the owner and manager of the restaurant, visits every table, talking to guests. He left the European ladies smiling – I am sure they will return to Sab.
I paid sh3,000 to the cashier and got a receipt that I used to order for beef stew, rice, posho, kalo (millet bread) and irish potatoes.
Thereafter, I walked to the sink to wash my hands. Surprisingly, there was Dettol anti-bacterial soap.
After taking my seat, the waitress came in a ‘flash’ with a steaming tray. On it was my beef stew – of course, my appetite rose at the aroma rising from the thick beef. If you enjoy white rice, try to remind the waitresses here, otherwise, they will bring something else.
I did not do so and was given brown fried rice, a slice of posho and sweet potatoes instead of Irish potatoes. The waitress told me they did not have Irish potatoes, only to see them being served to another person, a few minutes later.
Anyway, my enhanced appetite could not wait for any explanations. I immediately started digging into the plate with the rage of a hungry lion.
Even when the manager came to my table, I had no time to waste, I gave him thumbs-up and invested the remaining time mining the spicy fresh meal.
As I left Sab, I wondered why they served so much food for the money that is a fraction of the charges at some fancy restaurants in town.
Sab is a people restaurant. In the week when Uganda hosts CHOGM, I will return to the restaurant to celebrate.
RATING/OUT OF FIVE
Staff friendliness 2
Service speed 4
Cleanliness 3
Food quality 4
Value for money 4
Staff attentiveness 1
Ambience 3
Toilet cleanliness 2
Drinks 4
Overall rating 55%